Lt. Gov. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, the state’s Democratic nominee for Senate, was widely considered the least verbally agile among three candidates during an April primary debate.
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The campaign of Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s Democratic Senate nominee, itself recently downplayed his debate skills in a memo to reporters that tried to lower the bar for his performance against Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee and longtime television personality.
Before Tuesday’s Senate debate in Pennsylvania, and before his stroke in May, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman was an uneven debater, given to hesitations, a slightly sing-songy voice and a dismissive attitude when challenged. Mr. Fetterman, the Democratic nominee, favored broad pronouncements over policy details.
Some of those tendencies seemed to be amplified in his performance on Tuesday night that may have surprised viewers if they had not heard him speak in recent weeks — or who knew him from earlier pre-stroke debates.
The stroke left Mr. Fetterman with an auditory processing disorder, which affects the brain’s ability to filter and interpret sounds, his doctor said recently, adding that Mr. Fetterman has “no work restrictions.” The debate setting on Tuesday included some accommodations, like large monitors to show the text of questions and answers.
Mr. Fetterman acknowledged he might “miss some words during this debate, mush two words together.” He also frequently paused and his words were often halting, though he also appeared energetic in making his case to voters.
Before his stroke, in an April debate among the three major Democratic primary candidates, Mr. Fetterman was widely considered the least verbally agile on the stage. He was positioned between two more telegenic rivals then, though he went on to easily win the primary.
Pressed to apologize in that debate for a 2013 episode as mayor of Braddock, Pa., when he held a shotgun and stopped a Black jogger he falsely believed was involved in a shooting, Mr. Fetterman was put back on his heels.
“There’s, there’s, I would like to clarify,’’ he began. He continued: “The people of Braddock who know me, that know my heart, know that, that 2013 had nothing to do with what, what they’re saying today — there was no profiling or anything involved.”
When asked in April to specify at what income level he would impose a wealth tax that he had advocated, he responded “I think it’s, you know it when you see it.”
He continued: “If you’re a nine-figure kind of net worth individual, I think we want to make sure that those individuals are making an appropriate contribution to increase — excuse me, to add to our tax rolls.”
On Monday, Mr. Fetterman’s campaign itself downplayed his debate skills in a memo to reporters that tried to lower the bar for his performance against Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee and longtime television personality. “We’ll admit — this isn’t John’s format,” his campaign manager and top communications adviser wrote.
Source: nytimes.com
